A daily media round-up for education professionals Thursday, 23rd July 2015
DEMOGRAPHICS Secondary school numbers set to rise
Government figures reveal that the number of pupils attending England's secondary schools is set to rise by 20% over the course of the next decade. By 2024, nearly 3.3m pupils are expected to be attending state-funded secondaries, compared with just over 2.7m in 2015, a rise of 547,000. The increase is mainly due to the upturn in the birth rate since 2002, and follows years of falling rolls due to low birth rates in the 1990s. State primary schools in England will also see a rise in pupil numbers, although not as great as in secondary schools due to lower birth rates in 2013. The primary population is projected to be 4,712,000 in 2024 - 336,000 higher than in 2015. Russell Hobby, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "The number of children in education is still rising but the Government lacks a coherent plan. Some schools are already stretched to their limits." A Government spokesman responded, saying that £7bn had been committed to providing enough school places. He added: "Despite rising numbers, 95% of parents received an offer at one of their three preferred schools."
BBC News Daily Telegraph, Page: 8 Daily Mirror, Page: 2 The Guardian, Page: 12 Daily Mail, Page: 12 The Sun, Page: 6 Evening Standard, Page: 1, 6, 16 Daily Express, Page: 7
SECONDARY Differing views on secondary school places in London
The BBC reports that there are enough spare places at London's secondary schools to house the equivalent of 84 primary schools. There are 42,500 spare places at secondary schools across the capital, BBC analysis of Department for Education figures found. Fifty-eight secondary schools in London have enough space to house an average-sized primary school with 263 pupils, and a further thirteen schools could fit two primaries on their site. "Co-locating,'' or educating younger pupils on secondary school sites already happens in big US cities such as New York and Chicago, which face a struggle for space similar to that in London. Of the 1,800 public schools in New York, 63% are co-locating. The Evening Standard, however, reports that a shortage of almost 35,000 secondary school places across the capital is expected by 2020. Its conclusion is based on figures from London Councils, the umbrella body for the capital's boroughs. Councillor Peter John, the body's education and schools spokesman, said: "London will be missing tens of thousands of secondary places by the end of the decade unless boroughs receive the funding needed to provide them.”
BBC News Evening Standard, Page: 1, 6
New whistleblowing system produces results
Since the launch of its new 'whistleblowing and serious misconduct policy', Birmingham City Council has received 30 complaints from teachers or parents complaining about Birmingham schools in just six months. Claims include maladministration of SATs results, fears a child was injured at a nursery and nepotism during staff recruitment. Most recent complaints concern teachers being absent from school "without apparent good reason" whilst still on full pay, reveals a report by the council's senior solicitor Michael Day. Birmingham Post, Page: 12
Schoolgirl dies on school trip to France
A 12-year-old girl from Yorkshire has died while swimming on a school trip at a French adventure centre. Jessica Lawson, from Wolfreton School, near Hull, was playing with classmates on a pontoon when it is thought to have overturned and trapped her underneath. The local gendarmerie have inspected the structure as part of the investigation and will be seeking to establish whether there was negligence by those running the camp and supervising the children. BBC The Times, Page: 7
HEALTH
Body image anxiety amongst eight-year-olds
Researchers have found that children as young as eight can experience dissatisfaction with the size and shape of their body that puts them at risk of eating disorders in their teens. The largest UK study on juvenile eating disorders followed 6,000 children to the age of 14, and found that at the age of eight, 5% of girls and 3% of boys in the study were dissatisfied with their body. This rose with age until, at the age of 14, 32.3% of girls and 16% of boys were "moderately dissatisfied" with at least part of it. Dr Nadia Micali, the lead author of the study said: "Children in primary schools are given healthy eating classes without even thinking what they might mean. Many of those classes have not been tested as scientists might test them." She added that the practice was potentially creating a risk that in warning children about becoming overweight, they might be pushed in the opposite direction. The Guardian, Page: 1, 2
SOCIAL Working mothers feel guilty
A survey commissioned by education communication company Gerard Kelly & Partners reveals that almost a third of 1,000 working mothers questioned said they felt guilt that they could not pick up their children from school or be there to greet them. The Times, Page: 18
Schoolboy writes essay to escape criminal record
A schoolboy in Scotland caught with Ecstasy at T in the Park has been left without a criminal record after writing a 500-word essay about drugs for a sheriff. Aaron Bertram, was granted an absolute discharge after being ordered to write an essay with the title: "The Perils of Drug Misuse for 16-21-year-olds in the 21st Century." The Scotsman, Page: 10
EMPLOYMENT Recruiting from abroad
The Independent describes how some teacher supply agencies are recruiting from countries such as Canada, Singapore and America but are encountering problems securing work permits. Tish Seabourne, managing director of TimePlan, one of the biggest teaching agencies, said she had written to Nicky Morgan highlighting the problem. She said: "I fail to see how in any way a special-needs teacher from America is going to damage the UK economy if they come over here to teach.”
The Independent, Page: 10
Midlands hit by strikes
New data shows that strike action in the West Midlands rose by nearly a third last year, with nearly half of days lost coming in the education sector. Some 15,800 days had to be written off in education due to strikes and other disputes in 2014. Birmingham Post, Page: 4
GOVERNMENT How the government is attracting students
The government has trialled various methods of trying to inspire teenagers to go to university in order to counteract their worries over student debt. Recent trials in 39 schools in Somerset found that students who received a talk emphasising the lifestyle benefits of university were significantly more likely to apply than those who received written information. The Independent, Page: 16
HIGHER EDUCATION More benefit claimants at college
Figures published by the Departments for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) reveal that 650,000 benefit claimants took up further education last year compared with 480,000 in 2009/2010, a rise of 35%.Tom Stannard, deputy chief executive of adult learning body Niace, said the growth was: “encouraging” and added: “Returning to learning as an adult will build the confidence they need to start or restart their careers.” Daily Telegraph
Universities wasting money on pointless research
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) says that universities are wasting time and public money on "pointless" research in order to get funding and push themselves up the rankings. It argues that government funding to higher education institutions, representing 4% of the total universities receive, should be scrapped because it generates "perverse incentives". Len Shackleton, one of the authors of the report, said: "Academics focus on getting papers in particular journals rather than genuine scholarship.” Daily Telegraph, Page: 8
Earn and learn
The Daily Mail describes how an increasing number of businesses are teaming up with universities to offer employees degrees while they work. Highlighted in the article are schemes run by Asda, KPMG, CGI and Cap Gemini. Daily Mail, Page: 62
OTHER The end of pocket money?
Research by financial technology firm, Intelligent Environments, has found that parents are increasingly moving away from traditional pocket money and are now paying children in ‘digital currency’. Over a quarter of parents pay their children in digital currencies for use in gaming communities such as Minecraft and Moshi Monsters or online services like iTunes, the poll revealed. It also showed that a third of parents now opt to transfer a weekly amount into their children’s digital bank accounts, and four in ten choose not to give their children any pocket money, instead preferring to transfer funds into savings accounts. Daily Telegraph